By LacticAcid
Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:01 am
Just got an MPC 1000. Things are going well, and I will share the high points of my new userhood.
I got the device at banjo center. Got it home and it had extremely sticky feet which took a good tug to get it off the table to move it. Don't know if that is what did it, but I noticed the case was sprung or bent so it would wiggle when I hit the pads. A guitar pick under one pad would help, but I brought it back and the guys at banjo gave me a new one no sweat.
I noticed the packing was surprisingly different for the two units. My first one came with a 128 meg CF card filled with programs, while the second same with a 32 meg one entitled "bonus song". The box style was different as well--I think my second one was for the Canadian market as it had english and french on the box. The new unit's feet are not sticky and it lays flat, so that is that.
The ram at banjo was $109, and they could not discount it, so I decided that was too much.
After reading this site a bit, I went to a local PC store and got my 255 meg memory card for $80. The guy wanted to know if I wanted high or low density, and I had no answer. He claimed there were incompatibilities. It wasn't until later that I decided the best approach would be to say "wichever technology is older". So, he went in back and got me something that was maybe micron brand. I brought the 1k to the store and it booted fine reporting 128 meg ram. So, I saved $30 bucks from reading this site.
I spent quite some time reading of the joys of JJ OS, and I had a skeptical sense that people were maybe over-excited about it, or it contained only advanced features I would never know enough to use, but eventually I gave the free version a shot. I had used 2.11 long enough to hate the file-picker, and when I went to load a file in JJ which had a visible tree structure on screen, I was a believer.
I really like the grid programming function. Also had fun stretching the kick sample to exercise the sub-woofer a bit. The ability to specify which folder is auto-loaded is something I will be using.
I ordered the paid version, and like the laxatives on television, it was a gentle, overnight process. I had my password in the morning, and was rolling. Just updated to 4.69 today. So, there went my $30 saved on the ram.
Now the manual for jjos, if it can be called that, is about as bad as such things can be, but so be it--I just poke around and explore and things are going well enough. The manual from akai is nothing much either.
So far, this site has been extremely helpful, especially since I don't know anybody to ask questions of in my real life. It is interesting that akai chose to reduce the functionality of the 1000 to make the higher models attractive, but that plan was kind of mooted by jjos.
Only things I really wish the 1k had are the data wheel with the dent in it for spinning with the tip of your finger, and the little block of navigation arrows. A small compromise in the larger scheme of things.
I also got the mac freeware program to create mpc programs--no need to wrestle with the mpc interface for that.
I got the device at banjo center. Got it home and it had extremely sticky feet which took a good tug to get it off the table to move it. Don't know if that is what did it, but I noticed the case was sprung or bent so it would wiggle when I hit the pads. A guitar pick under one pad would help, but I brought it back and the guys at banjo gave me a new one no sweat.
I noticed the packing was surprisingly different for the two units. My first one came with a 128 meg CF card filled with programs, while the second same with a 32 meg one entitled "bonus song". The box style was different as well--I think my second one was for the Canadian market as it had english and french on the box. The new unit's feet are not sticky and it lays flat, so that is that.
The ram at banjo was $109, and they could not discount it, so I decided that was too much.
After reading this site a bit, I went to a local PC store and got my 255 meg memory card for $80. The guy wanted to know if I wanted high or low density, and I had no answer. He claimed there were incompatibilities. It wasn't until later that I decided the best approach would be to say "wichever technology is older". So, he went in back and got me something that was maybe micron brand. I brought the 1k to the store and it booted fine reporting 128 meg ram. So, I saved $30 bucks from reading this site.
I spent quite some time reading of the joys of JJ OS, and I had a skeptical sense that people were maybe over-excited about it, or it contained only advanced features I would never know enough to use, but eventually I gave the free version a shot. I had used 2.11 long enough to hate the file-picker, and when I went to load a file in JJ which had a visible tree structure on screen, I was a believer.
I really like the grid programming function. Also had fun stretching the kick sample to exercise the sub-woofer a bit. The ability to specify which folder is auto-loaded is something I will be using.
I ordered the paid version, and like the laxatives on television, it was a gentle, overnight process. I had my password in the morning, and was rolling. Just updated to 4.69 today. So, there went my $30 saved on the ram.
Now the manual for jjos, if it can be called that, is about as bad as such things can be, but so be it--I just poke around and explore and things are going well enough. The manual from akai is nothing much either.
So far, this site has been extremely helpful, especially since I don't know anybody to ask questions of in my real life. It is interesting that akai chose to reduce the functionality of the 1000 to make the higher models attractive, but that plan was kind of mooted by jjos.
Only things I really wish the 1k had are the data wheel with the dent in it for spinning with the tip of your finger, and the little block of navigation arrows. A small compromise in the larger scheme of things.
I also got the mac freeware program to create mpc programs--no need to wrestle with the mpc interface for that.
